European domestic hot-rolled coil market faced conflicting pressures in mid-November, with mills continuing to seek higher prices while end-user demand remained sluggish, leaving businesses further down the supply chain caught between rising procurement costs and resistance to price increases from their customers.
The suppliers justified price rises by lower imports due to the effect of protectionist measures such as safeguard and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as well as growing energy and transportation costs.
In Italy, meanwhile, the situation is complicated by reduced domestic production due to the shutdown order for the hot-end area at Acciaieria d’Italia (formerly Ilva) steelworks in Taranto from October 29.
In such conditions, mills in Europe are currently in a strong position to seek price rises.
Latest offers from the leading producer of HRC in Italy were reported at €760-780($845-868) per tonne ex-works, with the lower end linked to December delivery and the higher end to January delivery.
Sources said December volumes were very limited in the market and reserved for regular customers, with mills mainly focusing on securing orders for January.
A number of buyer sources agreed that tradeable levels for January production volumes from the producer are mainly varying within the range of €770-780 per tonne ex-works.
A third Italian supplier (a re-roller) was not yet offering material for January production, saying it would theoretically target €760 per tonne ex-works for the material.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €772.71 per tonne on Thursday November 12, down by just €0.04 per tonne from €772.75 per tonne on Wednesday November 11.
The index was up by €27.21 per tonne week on week and by €31.71 per tonne month on month.
The corresponding Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe rose to €770.83 per tonne on November 12, up by €6.45 per tonne day on day from €764.38 per tonne on November 11.
The index was up by €11.25 per tonne week on week and by €29.16 per tonne month on month.
A seller source provided an indication of a tradeable level for the “bulk” of January volumes within the range of €770-780 per tonne ex-works.
A buyer source reported an indication at €800 per tonne delivered or €780-785 per tonne ex-works, adding that if someone wants to buy material now, they have to pay that price.
Meanwhile, a second buyer source reported an indication of a tradeable level at €770-780 per tonne delivered or €750-765 per tonne ex-works, adding that it is difficult to push through price rises to end users due to their limited demand and expectations of a deterioration in performance in 2027.
In Central Europe, market sources also reported reduced availability of the material, with at least two regular suppliers heard not to be providing offers at the moment.
“The situation in the HRC market remains quite challenging, particularly in terms of material availability. Unfortunately, replacing the volumes previously supplied by Ukraine’s Metinvest is not easy due to the limited quantities currently offered by other producers,” a Polish buyer said.
Metinvest stopped supplying its products for export following Russian attacks on the company’s Ukrainian assets earlier this summer and autumn.
The market leader offered HRC at €820 per tonne CPT, which is equivalent to €805 per tonne ex-works. A German producer was said to be offering its material to Poland at a similar level on a CPT basis.
This level was, however, considered unworkable, with deals reported at €750-770 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil domestic, exw Central Europe, was €735-755 per tonne ex-works on November 12, versus €745-760 per tonne ex-works on November4, in line with market participants’ estimates of tradeable levels.
Import trade quiet
Meanwhile, the import segment turned quiet.
Market sources mainly said that Turkish suppliers were absent from the market during the reported week, with one source reporting offers at €600-605 per tonne CFR. This is €10-15 per tonne higher than previously heard levels.
Some stakeholders said it is possible that Turkish producers will raise export offers following the explosion at the Turkish producer Habaş leading to rising demand for imports into the country.
On the other hand, the rapid exhaustion of import quotas by Turkish producers, combined with the subsequent application of out-of-quota duties, CBAM-related costs, and anti-dumping measures, may limit the scope for significant price increases by Turkish suppliers.
Indian suppliers were also largely absent this week due to the Diwali holiday. However, early in the week sources reported offers within the range of $720-740 (€645-650) per tonne CFR, which is $10-20 per tonne lower than a week ago.
Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main port Southern Europe was €600-650 per tonne on November 11, versus €595-670 per tonne on November 4.
Offers from Taiwan and Japan for customers in Southern Europe came at €780-790 per tonne DDP. South Korean material was heard available as high as €810 per tonne DDP.
A source reported some transactions taking place at €800 per tonne DDP, without specifying the country of origin.
Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment for steel hot-rolled coil import, ddp Southern Europe was €780-800 per tonne on November 11, up from €750-765 per tonne on November 4.
